Another Asian Block

 This is the last of the midnight Asian blocks in the round robin.  Peggy had mentioned a Ming tree in her notes, and no one had made one yet, so I did.  The block is somewhat plain after I did it, but it didn't seem right to embellish it more and detract from the tree.

Indian Inspired

 Someone else caught onto my idea that Asia isn't just the far east!  Rita sent her blocks asking for India-inspired stitchery.  What is a better exemplar of India than a paisley, one of the shapes invented there?  So I did one!  I added a few more mandala type things, too.  I hope she likes it.

Out And Back Again

 Back in January, I sent this block out as part of the Wine round robin.  Below, you can see its condition when returned.  Thank you Beryl, Darlene, Carol, and Kathy!  It looks fabulous, and, as I said in my original booklet, I'll be sending it to my husband's parents to be made into a wall hanging for them!

One Big Butterfly

Last week, I showed you Candji's block in progress.  The bottom picture is after my work; the top is before.  The biggest thing I did was to cover over one of the large butterflies with embroidery.  Other things include a caterpiller, some ladybug ribbon, and a couple of premade butterflies from Uruguay.  I hope Candji likes the additions.

Butterfly Fill

I rarely show one of the crazy quilt round robin blocks in progress, but, being on vacation, I wasn't able to finish it in time for a picture.  The butterfly on the upper left is the one I'm working on.

One More Midnight Fantasy

Kathy's block came to me a little bit low on flowers for a garden block, so I added some broderie anglaise ones; big, bold roses.

One More Wine

One more wine round robin block passed through my hands.  Here's Carol's block, both before and after. 

To Rule Or Not

I was rather upset when I received this block.  It's thrice the area a round robin block in the group it's in is supposed to be.  On top of that, the owner asked for a lot of encrusting and extra embellishment.  For a smaller than usual block, that's great.  For a monsterly huge block like this, that's pretty ridiculous.  On top of that, this block is so far out of my comfort zone taste-wise that I was flummoxed as to what to put on it.  My first thought was a My Little Pony.  Instead, I embellished the unicorn and added flowery stuff around it.  I hope the owner likes this block, but I'm thinking I'm going to withdraw from any other round robin theme she signs up to that I am already part of.  Is this fair of me?

Bring A Butterfly

Here is my first block of work for the Butterflies and Dragonflies round robin.  Cathy L's block came to me as shown on the left.  To me, the block looked very 1960's for some reason.  In that vein, I decided to do a pop art butterfly in wool on the lower right and to outline the barely visible butterflies on the fabric in the upper left.  You can see pictures of both embellishments below.

Adding Some Grape Leaves

I spent a long time embroidering a big, huge leaf on Darlene's wine block.  I also added a smaller leaf and a quote from Robert Lewis Stevenson.  I hope she likes it.  Top is before; bottom is after.

A Bit Of Midnight

This is Lyn's Midnight Fantasy Garden block.  Below is the same block after my work.  I tried to keep to dark colors and to add some lushness with beads.  I hope she likes what I did.

One Asian Night...

 This was Theresa's Asian night block before I did anything.  Below it is finished.  The main work I did on it was the paisley and the dragon character.  The rest took less time but filled up the block and brought out its character more.  I hope she likes it.

Starting To Wine

I've started another round robin.  This one is all about wine.  First up is Kathy's block.  She said anything wine related, so I decided to do some grape vines and a list of wines from around the world.

Year Of The Dragon Block

 Last month we started an Asian nights round robin with small blocks.  The first one for me to work on was Carol's.  Since it's the year of the dragon and I couldn't find anything else I really liked, I embroidered a slithery dragon on the center of her block.

Last Of The Roses

Rita's block was the last one I worked on in the Roses, Roses, Roses round robin.  As you can see, it's pretty full, with the exception of the middle.  Not even a seam empty!  I had two options - make a really dramatic middle or tone the middle down to let the other works around the edges draw the eye.  Because of the prints, I decided to go with the latter.  You can see my work below.

Last Cracker

Finally, my last Christmas cracker was delivered on the one day we got mail two weeks ago.  It wasn't the sender's fault that it took so long, but Turkish Air's.  Isn't it beautifully stuffed with stuff?  I can't wait to use it!

Next to Last Roses

This is my next to last rose block to work on.  It's Ruby's, and you can see there's not much space left.  I knew I had to leave some for Rita to do, so I worked mainly on seams and small stuff.  I did one BIG lace seam and a few more small things.  I hope Rita thinks she has enough space!

Cracker from North Carolina

 I don't know who sent me this cracker, but the return address was North Carolina.  It was full of some neat stuff!  I've already used some on a round robin quilt block.  Thank you!

Crackers On Their Way

I made three Christmas crackers for exchange.  They're filled with stitchy things, some of them bought here.  I hope their new owners like them!

All the Way from North Carolina

I've received the first of  three Christmas crackers!  It's pretty and from North Carolina and anonymous.  I won't open it until Christmas Eve.